God gave a specific land to the people of Israel, at the crossroads of the world, and called them to be standing stones, witnesses to the one true God. It was a land of milk & honey (fit for both the shepherd & farmer) that shaped them:...

We have come to call the events described in Luke 19:28-44 (and parallels) Palm Sunday, and the event of the day “the triumphal entry.” But I think we’ve got the names wrong, both of them. Why Palm Sunday when palms were an inappropriate image ...

Scripture: Mark 8:31-38

In preparation for heading to Jerusalem and the cross, Jesus had just asked his disciples “who do you say I am?” and they responded, through their spokesman Peter, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Then Jesus revealed that he was...

Jesus, why move? Why change your hometown? Especially at a time when that wasn’t the norm? We’ve been asked that question several times over the last 37 years as we’ve moved to several places and churches. Any time you move, it is a conscious d...

Scripture: Philippians 4:2-3.

While I was in seminary, I preached at my hometown church. I blush today at how poorly I preached, but I was also a bit frustrated at the reaction of my friends, their parents, and others who knew me as a child. Evidently there was some obstacl...

Scripture: Philippians 3:1-11

Scripture: Psalm 11

We have spent time in the desert of Israel, where we’ve seen that Israel learned trust and dependence on God. Individuals would sometimes go back to the desert to hear God’s voice and prepare for some kind of ministry. Over the next couple of w...

George Barna is a Christian pollster who occasionally compares the behaviors of those who claim they are “born again” Christians with those who say they are not Christians. Each time the polls came out roughly the same: the behaviors of the two...

Scripture: Philippians 2:25-30

We continue our look at how Jesus might have been seen in his culture, moving from a faith healer (wonderworker) to another title some gave him: Rabbi (Teacher). In Matthew 21-22, we see Jesus at the Temple, overthrowing the moneychangers’ tabl...

Much of David’s imagery in Psalms comes from the desert: God as Rock (above flooding wadis), Fortress (masada - protection from enemies), Shade at your right hand (sustaining life in intense heat). But the most important image for God in the de...

There are two issues that might get in the way of people’s reading of this morning’s story. One is the impossibility of the miraculous, given the scientific understandings of the modern era. But there is nothing irrational about miracles if you...

Imagine you are a Gospel writer of the 1st century and you have the task of convincing people that this rabbi Yeshua is not just another claiming to be Messiah; he really is! Thankfully God has given you a lot to work with. He has shown how his...

As we noted last week, God’s covenant with Abraham, which was renewed with Moses & Israel, involved a promise of land. This land is described fifteen times in the Torah as “a land flowing with milk and honey.” Not having grown up in the Mid...

Scripture: Philippians 2:14- 18  

We move from the first steps into the land of Canaan to the founding of the biblical nation of Israel. We may ask ourselves on occasion, what’s the big deal with the Middle East conflict we constantly hear about? Israelis and Palestinians fight...

Today is Cadet Sunday, and in keeping with their theme, we will explore Paul’s training of and instruction to Timothy. Timothy was special to Paul and he takes time to help him in the faith and even move him into the role of pastor for one of t...

Scripture: Phillippians 2:12-13

Last week we looked at Jesus as child in the Jerusalem Temple, ready to be about Father’s business. But the time isn’t right, so Jesus goes back to his parents’ home in Nazareth and is obedient to them. From his parents, not through traveling w...